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Most U.S. Babies Get Their Vaccines: CDC
By Steven ReinbergHealthDay Reporter

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THURSDAY, Aug. 28, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The vast
majority of American babies are getting the vaccines they need
to protect them from serious illnesses, federal health
officials said Thursday.

More than 90 percent of children are getting the vaccines
that prevent measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR); polio;
hepatitis B and chickenpox (varicella), according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Nationally, vaccination among children 19 to 35 months of
age remains stable or has increased for all of the recommended
vaccines, and that's really good news," said Dr. Melinda
Wharton, acting director of CDC's National Center for
Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

"There is still room for improvement," she added. "Coverage
is not as high as we would like it to be for doses of vaccines
and boosters given in the second year of life."

Wharton suggested one way to improve vaccine coverage could
be with electronic medical records to help doctors keep track
of when vaccinations are needed.

While some parents are reluctant to have their children
vaccinated, or don't believe in vaccines at all, Wharton
doesn't see this as a major problem. "The number of children
who do not get any vaccine remains low and stable at less than
1 percent," she said.

Vaccines are essential in preventing sickness and death, the
CDC said. "Among children born during 1994-2013, vaccination
will prevent an estimated 322 million illnesses, 21 million
hospitalizations and 732,000 deaths during their lifetimes,"
the CDC report stated.

The new findings were published in the Aug. 29 issue of the
CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The report also found that:

the vaccination rate for rotavirus -- which causes
gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea and vomiting --
increased slightly from nearly 69 percent in 2012 to about
73 percent in 2013;

the vaccination rate for one or more doses of the
hepatitis A vaccine rose from just under 82 percent in 2012
to 83 percent in 2013. And the rate for hepatitis B
vaccines rose from nearly 72 percent to 74 percent for the
same time period.

While initial vaccination rates are high, getting second
doses and booster shots that are needed when children are 2
years old remains a challenge, Wharton said.

These vaccines include the DTaP vaccine, which prevents
diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough); Hib, which
protects against haemophilus influenzae type b, which can cause
severe diseases like meningitis -- an infection of the fluid
and lining around the brain and spinal cord; and the PCV
vaccine, which prevents pneumococcal disease, which can trigger
ear infections and meningitis.

Poor children are less likely to get booster shots, and the
full series of polio, rotavirus and hepatitis B vaccines,
according to the report.

Wharton said most insurance plans cover vaccines. People who
can't afford them can turn to the federal Vaccines for Children
Program, which provides vaccines for free.

Vaccine coverage also varies by state and vaccine, the CDC
report found.

When the researchers looked at immunizations against 11
different diseases -- including chickenpox, measles and polio
-- coverage ranged from a high of 82 percent in Rhode Island to
57 percent in Arkansas. Also, 17 states had less than 90
percent coverage with the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine.

For one disease, measles, which has made a recurrence in the
United States, national coverage with at least one dose of the
measles/mumps/rubella vaccine was 92 percent. While this seems
high, one in 12 children did not receive the first dose of the
MMR vaccine on time, putting lots of kids at risk for measles,
the CDC noted.

As of Aug. 22, there had been 592 measles cases reported in
the United States this year, the most since 1994, according to
the CDC.

Measles is most often introduced into the United States by
unvaccinated Americans who travel overseas to areas where
measles is endemic. Measles can spread quickly in communities
with unvaccinated and under-vaccinated people, the CDC pointed
out.

Dr. Adriana Cadilla, a pediatrician at Miami Children's
Hospital, said, "We still have a ways to go, but it's good to
know that we're headed in the right direction" with childhood
vaccinations.

Despite that progress, there are still some parents who
oppose vaccinations, Cadilla said. "Those who are refusing are
the ones that increase the risk to their communities," she
said.

Since vaccines have made a lot of diseases rare, many
parents don't have experience with how devastating they can be,
she explained. "Vaccines are safe, and make sure your children
are getting vaccinated," she added.

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